T-Mobile: iPhone 7 pre-orders up 4x over iPhone 6, matte black most popular

Apple last week said it wouldn’t be revealing first-weekend sales numbers for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, bucking a trend that dates back several years. A spokesperson for the company said the decision had to do with the fact that they know the iPhone 7 will sell out even before the weekend arrives and as such, initial sales figures would be artificially dictated by supply, not demand.

On the Internet, the immediate – and sensible – reaction to the news was that Apple isn’t expecting gangbuster sales of the new phones due to market saturation, waning interest in the iPhone or the fact that this year’s model doesn’t deliver the groundbreaking redesign some expected in a non-S release.

Just when you think you’ve got Apple figured out, new information crops up that makes you reconsider everything.

In a Periscope session Monday afternoon, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said the iPhone 7 has been the biggest launch ever in his company’s history. Specifically, they’ve had four times as many pre-orders for the new phone as they did with the iPhone 6, a handset that had a striking new design and larger screen size options. Is that because T-Mobile is much more popular these days thanks to Legere’s Un-carrier initiatives?

The executive also revealed that the matte black model is the most pre-ordered color to date. Is that because the supply of the jet black model is indeed in short supply as rumor has it?

Granted, this is only one source but then again, the nation’s third largest wireless provider is likely a pretty decent gauge of the US market. Does this mean sales of the iPhone aren’t tanking as some have predicted? We’ll find out in the coming months through Apple’s quarterly reports.